{"product_id":"2940013702912","title":"Mr Polton Explains","description":"\"DRAT that clock!\" exclaimed my Aunt Judy. \"Saturday night, too. Of\u003cbr\u003ecourse, it would choose Saturday night to stop.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe looked up malevolently at the stolid face and the motionless pendulum\u003cbr\u003ethat hung straight down like a plumb-bob, and then, as she hopped up on a\u003cbr\u003echair to lift the clock off its nail, she continued: \"Get me the bellows,\u003cbr\u003eNat.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI extricated myself with some difficulty from the little arm-chair. For\u003cbr\u003edear Uncle Gollidge had over looked the fact that boys grow and chairs do\u003cbr\u003enot, so that it was now a rather tight fit with a tendency to become,\u003cbr\u003elike a snail's shell, a permanent attachment. The separation\u003cbr\u003eaccomplished, I took the bellows from the hook beside the fire-place and\u003cbr\u003ewent to my aunt's assistance; she having, in her quick, brisk way,\u003cbr\u003eunhooked the pendulum and opened the little side doors of the case. Then\u003cbr\u003eI held the clock steady on the table while she plied the bellows with the\u003cbr\u003eenergy of a village blacksmith, blowing out a most encouraging cloud of\u003cbr\u003edust through the farther door-opening.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"We will see what that will do,\" said she, slapping the little doors to,\u003cbr\u003efastening the catches and hooking on the pendulum. Once more she sprang\u003cbr\u003eup on the chair, replaced the dock on its nail, gave the pendulum a\u003cbr\u003epersuasive pat, and descended.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What is the time by your watch, Dad?\" she asked. Old Mr. Gollidge paused\u003cbr\u003ein the story that he was telling and looked at her with mild reproach. A\u003cbr\u003egreat story-teller was old Mr. Gollidge (he had been a ship's carpenter),\u003cbr\u003ebut Aunt Judy had a way of treating his interminable yarns as mere\u003cbr\u003enegligible sounds like the ticking of a clock or the dripping of a leaky\u003cbr\u003etap, and she now repeated her question; whereupon the old gentleman,\u003cbr\u003ehaving contributed to a large spittoon at his side, stuck his pipe in his\u003cbr\u003emouth and hauled a bloated silver watch from the depths of his pocket as\u003cbr\u003eif he were hoisting out cargo from the lower hold.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Watch seems to say,\" he announced, after looking at it with slight\u003cbr\u003esurprise, \"as it's a quarter past six.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Six!\" shrieked Aunt Judy. \"Why, I heard the church clock strike seven a\u003cbr\u003efull half-hour ago.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Then,\" said the old gentleman, \"'twould seem to be about three bells,\u003cbr\u003esay half-past seven. Watch must have stopped.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe confirmed the diagnosis by applying it to his ear, and then, having\u003cbr\u003efished up from another pocket an old-fashioned bronze, crank-shaped key,\u003cbr\u003eopened the front glass of the watch, which had the winding-hole in the\u003cbr\u003edial like a clock, inserted the key and proceeded to wind as if he were\u003cbr\u003eplaying a little barrel-organ.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Half-past seven, you say,\" said he, transferring the key to the centre\u003cbr\u003esquare preparatory to setting the hands.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAunt Judy looked up at the clock, which was still sluggishly wagging its\u003cbr\u003ependulum but uttering no tick, and shook her head impatiently.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's no use guessing,\" said she. \"We shall want to know the time in the\u003cbr\u003emorning. If you put on your slipper, Nat, you can run round and have a\u003cbr\u003elook at Mr. Abraham's clock. It isn't far to go.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe necessity for putting on my slipper arose from a blister on my heel\u003cbr\u003ewhich had kept me a bootless prisoner in the house. I began cautiously to\u003cbr\u003einsinuate my foot into the slipper and had nearly completed the operation\u003cbr\u003ewhen Aunt Judy suddenly interposed.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47073827422448,"sku":"2940013702912","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013702912_p0.jpg?v=1763584205","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013702912","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}